New Mario Kart 8 trailer shows new characters, tracks and items

Wow.

A huge embargo has just ended and there’s a fresh new Mario Kart 8 trailer along with a ton of impressions from UK and US media.

This is absolutely nuts! We’ve got Shy Guy, Lakitu and Metal Mario coming to Mario Kart 8, all shown off in a new trailer released on the official YouTube channel today. On top of the new characters, two new items were shown off, with the Boomerang Flower making it’s debut, which works pretty much as you’d expect it to. The other new item is the Piranha Plant, which appears in front of your kart, chomping at players and some hazards, like banana peels.

One big change to the game is how items are handled. You can now no longer pick up additional items while dragging another item behind you. That will force a rethink of some strategies.

We’ve also got a bunch of tracks revealed, including Donut Plains from the ol’ SNES installation, and the Rainbow Road from Mario Kart 64. That’s right, we’ve finally got it as a retro Rainbow Road. The game also reportedly runs at 60 frames per second with two player split screen, and 30 frames per second for 3 or 4 player split screen. That’s pretty impressive for our first HD Mario Kart, you have to admit!

The use of the GamePad has expanded somewhat with the simple horn being replaced with options to toggle between a live view of the TV, current standings in the race and map of the track. The horn is still in there, but the GamePad isn’t being used for too much more than what we saw at E3 last year.

There’s still more features like Mario Kart TV to be revealed but Eurogamer got their hands on with some of replay editing functions. It’s shaping up well.

We’ve included the official trailer below as well as some great footage from other sites who have been hands on.

Mario Kart 8 is out on Wii U on May 31st.

Press Release

[quote]

For the first time in HD, Mario Kart 8 introduces original course designs that highlight the game’s new antigravity feature, which allows players to race upside down or up vertical surfaces. Racers will also enjoy a variety of series-favourite features including the return of 12-player online competitive play, four player local multiplayer, hang-gliders, underwater racing and motorbikes.

Spin Turbo: While racing upside down or on walls, players can bump into other racers or certain course obstacles to get a speed boost. Spin Turbo fundamentally redefines the way that players compete, and makes antigravity racing even more exhilarating.
Returning characters: In Mario Kart 8, players can race with returning characters Metal Mario, Lakitu and Shy Guy. These newly revealed returning characters join a host of previously announced favourites including all seven of Bowser’s minions, who are playable for the first time in Mario Kart history.
New items: Two new items join the fray in Mario Kart 8. First, the Piranha Plant attaches to the front of the players’ kart and chomps at other characters, banana peels on the course or even shells thrown by other characters. Each time the Piranha Plant lunges forward to bite, the player receives a brief boost of speed. The second new item is the Boomerang Flower. After acquiring it, racers can throw a boomerang at opponents to stun them, and its arc allows players to strike multiple opponents with a single toss. The boomerang can be thrown three times, forward or backwards.
New courses: Remixed classic courses make a return in Mario Kart 8 with favourites such as Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad’s Turnpike from Mario Kart 64 and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart, among others. The graphics and layout of these courses have been redesigned and reimagined. For example, Toad’s Turnpike now allows players to drive up certain walls in antigravity mode. The game will include 16 new courses and 16 remixed classic courses.
Live recorded music: For the first time in the Mario Kart series, select courses in Mario Kart 8 feature music recorded by live performers.
Control scheme: Mario Kart 8 will support a variety of control schemes including the Wii U GamePad, the Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii Wheel, and Wii Remote and Nunchuk. The game can also be played in off-TV mode using just the Wii U GamePad.